Then came an 11 on an ugly scale of 1 to 10.
The Cardinals, donning City Connect uniforms calling the team “The Lou,” scored five runs on two soft singles, three walks, a hit batsman and an error.
It led to a 6-1 defeat for the Reds in the opener of an important three-games series against their much-despised National League Central brethren.
The gory details:
Reds starter Brady Singer held the Cardinals to a 1-0 lead through six innings and turned matters over to the usually reliable bullpen.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
With one out, Scott Barlow walked light-hitting catcher Pedro Pages (.221) on a full count. Then he hit light-hitting No. 9 hitter Victor Scott II.
Left-hander Taylor Rogers replaced Barlow to face left-handed Brendan Donovan. He walked him to fill the bases.
Then he gave up a soft single up the middle to Masyn Winn for a run and a 2-0 lead. He struck out Alec Burleson for the second out.
But he walked Nolan Ryan, forcing in a run and it was 3-0. Tony Santillan replaced Rogers and the first batter, Thomas Saggese, hit a easy ground ball to third base.
Gavin Lux fielded it cleanly and threw the ball into the dirt for an error that permitted two more to score. Lars Nootbar singled home another run and it was 6-0.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“Ah, man, hit by pitch, walks, Lux likes to throw on the run and just didn’t get it there,” said Reds manager Tito Francona, dissecting the disaster. “That hurt.
“Good teams who feel good about themselves when you give them extra opportunities, extra chances, it is rare when it doesn’t hurt you.”
The pain was excruciating, especially when it comes when the Reds haven’t won a season series in their park since 2003.
And the Reds knew it would be a difficult assignment because they were facing St. Louis starter Andre Pallante.
Against most teams, he is a step or two below ordinary. And he entered the game 4-3 with a 4.83 earned run average this season.
But when he sees the Reds, he sees red. He held the Reds to no runs and two hits over six innings and was the winner.
So he is 6-2 with a 2.01 ERA against the Reds for his seven career starts and 10 relief appearances.
He put extra-tight handcuffs on a team that was averaging close to six runs while winning 10 of its last 12 games. He had the Reds flattening the infield grass with 10 ground ball outs.
He retired the first eight Reds until Matt McLain extended his hitting streak to eight games with a two-out third-inning single.
Elly De La Cruz was on first with one out in the fourth when it was 1-0. He strayed too far off the base and catcher Pedro Pages picked him off.
The only other uprising against Pallante came in the top of the seventh when it was still 1-0. De La Cruz broke an 0 for 12 skid with a ground ball single.
But Tyler Stephenson swung at the first pitch and grounded into a 5-4-3 double play.
“His cutter was really good, getting past our barrels the first time through the order,” said Francona, describing Pallante’s dominance. “Then he sped us up with his off-speed stuff.
“He was really good and has had a ton of success keeping hitters on the ground,” he told reporters at the game. “We tried to get some balls in the air, but he was beating us with that cutter.”
When Brady Singer faced the Cardinals in Cincinnati on May 1, he held them to one run and two hits over six innings and lost 1-0.
And it looked as if he might lose another 1-0 game to them ... until the ugly seventh.
He pitched around heavy traffic. He gave up a two-out double in the first that he stranded. St. Louis put their leadoff batter on bases in the second, third and fourth, but only one scored.
That was in the third when he hit Victor Scott II to open the inning. Brendan Donovan forced him at second, but Masyn Winn doubled Donovan to third and he scored on Gorman’s sacrifice fly.
Singer retired the last nine batters he faced but all he got was his record dropped to 7-5.
“I was a little shaky the first few innings, but then I threw more strikes,” said Singer. “It was definitely a battle. It was pretty hot (88 degrees), but i just had to put my head down and go out there.”
Francona piled praise on Singer.
“Boy, he battled,” he said. “Six innings and there was some traffic but he only gave up one. A lot of nights we’re saying, ‘Hey, that was a great job, way to go.’”
The Reds received some bad news before the game concerning Saturday’s scheduled starter, Wade Miley. An MRI revealed that the 38-year-old left-hander has a tear in his flexor that most likely will end his career.
So who starts?
“We’re all right,” said Francona. “It will be a bullpen game. Brent Suter will start.”
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